Bill Requiring Timely Unemployment Payouts Must Be Revised, Governor Murphy Says

By Sophie Nieto-Munoz, New Jersey Monitor

September 26, 2022

A bill that seeks to improve how quickly unemployment benefit claims are paid out was conditionally vetoed by Gov. Phil Murphy last week, with the governor saying the U.S. Department of Labor said it doesn’t conform to federal standards.

The legislation (A3830) was advanced unanimously by the state Legislature earlier this year, with the support of many lawmakers who say they were forced to help their constituents secure unemployment payments during the pandemic. The Department of Labor was inundated with jobless claims and struggled to handle the deluge.

The measure would update the amount of time employers have to respond to state labor officials’ questions about unemployment claims and would require employers to provide email addresses so labor officials can correspond about individual cases. It would also increase fines for unresponsive employers from $25 every 10 days to $500 daily.

The bill also seeks to offer reprieve to people who were overpaid through no fault of their own. Currently, people have to repay the money no matter the reason they were wrongly paid, but the legislation would require the worker to pay back 50% of the amount.

Murphy said the federal Department of Labor identified multiple “conformity issues” where they find the bill is inconsistent with federal law and the CARES Act.

He wants lawmakers to change certain language in the bill to reflect employers who cannot communicate electronically and clarify that overpayment made under the CARES Act can only be waived if the Department of Labor finds the claimant was not at fault.

Any benefits overpaid due to fraud or misrepresentation would still need to be paid back in full.

While the bill would require the Department of Labor to implement these changes 120 days after the governor signs it, Murphy asked to increase the time to 270 days.

“The revisions contained in the bill will promote a more expeditious review of unemployment claims and ensure a reliable and transparent process for all involved,” Murphy said in a statement.

More than $40 billion has been doled out in state and federal funds to millions of claimants, state officials have said.

Sponsors of the legislation did not respond to requests for comment.

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